1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for facilitating vehicle transportation of persons with limited mobility, such as the elderly or disabled, and more particularly to a sling for facilitating entry or exit of such persons to or from a vehicle.
2. Description of the Background
Population aging is the shift in the distribution of a country's population toward older ages and is generally a result of declining birthrates in the developed world coupled with increased total life spans. Population aging is occurring in most of the world, but is most advanced in the richest countries. Worldwide, the median age of the population rose from 23.9 in 1950 to 26.8 in 2000, and is forecast to rise to 37.8 by 2050. Among the countries currently classified by the United Nations as more developed, the corresponding figures rose from 29.0 in 1950 to 37.3 in 2000, and is forecast to rise to 45.5 by 2050. In the United States the median age in 2010 is 35.3 years and is expected to increase to 39.0 years by 2050.
The U.S. median age increase is held down as compared to the world due to increases in relatively young population constituents from net international migration into the country. Nevertheless, the percentage of American over the age of 65 is projected by the U.S. Census Bureau to increase from 12 percent of the total population in 2004 to 21 percent in 2050. This will represent a 147 percent increase in the number of individuals over the age of 65 from 36.3 million in 2004 to 86.7 million in 2050 (as compared to a projected increase of 49% of the population as a whole over the same period.)
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, of the U.S. population 65 and older, 28.6 percent report having a physical disability that is a “long lasting, substantial limitation on one or more basic physical activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying.” That figure increases to 32.7 percent for individuals between the ages of 75 and 84 and again to 53.1 percent for those over 85. Similarly, 20.4 percent of individuals over the age of 65 report difficulty “going outside the home alone to shop or visit a doctor's office,” a number which increases to 23.6 percent for individuals 75 to 84 and jumps to 47.3 percent for those 85 and over.
Although not all difficulties leaving the home are the result of physical infirmity, many elderly individuals rely on professional and family caregivers for transportation to daily activities and engagements. Other persons of limited mobility such as paraplegics, quadriplegics, and those suffering from diseases or conditions such as muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy similarly rely on caregivers for their transportation needs regardless of their age. In the developed world, cars are quite obviously among the most common modes of such transport and the task of entering and exiting a car, while seemingly simple for the able bodied, can be a difficult task for those with physical disabilities, even with the aid of their caregiver. Exiting a car requires an elderly/disabled person to swing their legs forty-five to ninety degrees from center so as to face the door opening and then simultaneously shift their weight forward over their feet and lift themselves to a standing position. Given the confined conditions of modern vehicle interiors, a caregiver can, at best, offer a handhold to aid the individual in pulling themselves up and out of the seated position and, at worst, can injure themselves or the patient when trying to help. A device to permit the caregiver to aid in the transfer between the standing and seated positions would be desirable.
A variety of transfer devices are known for transporting persons from one location to another currently exist for other situations, such as lifting from a hospital bed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,327 to Smith issued Feb. 9, 1988 discloses a device to transport and move bed ridden patients easily and securely without potential injury to either the patient or the attendant. The device comprises a generally square sheet of flexible fabric material with an integral perimeter handle movable positioned within the fabric. Others include U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,057 to Shaw issued Jul. 31, 1990 which discloses a device to assist in lifting and supporting a handicapped or infirm person from a sitting position on a supporting surface, and transferring the person to a sitting position on a second supporting surface. The device includes a main body portion of fabric or other flexible material having a configuration tending to conform naturally to the body contours of a person seated thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,834 to Vanarnem issued Mar. 29, 1994 discloses a method and apparatus for lifting and transferring a disabled person to and from a wheel chair including an elongated sheet of material having handles at each end. The sheet of material is spread beneath the buttocks of a seated disabled person. An attendant reaches for the handles to either side of the person and straightens up to lift the person slightly from the place at which the person is seated.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,821 to Weeks issued Aug. 22, 1995 discloses a sling for transferring a patient including a trough of strong flexible sheet material having a bottom, opposite side walls and opposite end walls. The side walls are connected to the end walls at four corners with a reinforced edge extending along the side walls, end walls and around the four corners. A pair of flexible handle straps are connected to each of the side walls. U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,006 to Hoit issued Aug. 1, 2001 discloses a An apparatus and method for moving an airline passenger whereby a Tyvek® sling having handles attached thereto is buckled about an airline passenger and the passenger is lifted and transferred, by two or more persons grasping the handles, from a wheelchair on the aircraft into an adjacent seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,210 to Erickson issued Jun. 17, 2003 discloses a support assembly for use with a patient lift system. U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,899 to Oja issued Jan. 6, 2004 discloses a lifting device made of a single piece of a flexible material, substantially forming a loop. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/636,694 by Bezalel filed Aug. 8, 2003 discloses a transfer assembly for use by caregivers to lift, support or move an elderly or infirm patient without lower back strain to the caregiver is significantly reduced. U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,167 to Wake issued Apr. 6, 2004 discloses a device designed to assist in the lifting and transfer of patients by a torso belt with hold and support handles on back, secured by sewn on hook and loop style fasteners. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/328,369 by Schrepfer filed Jan. 9, 2006 discloses a patient transfer sheet comprising a nylon sheet for transferring a patient and having a first pair of loop handles and a second pair of loop handles for supplying and carrying the patient.
Notably, none of the foregoing references suggests their use in specific conjunction with lateral entry/exit to or from a car or from a seated to a standing position. Indeed, the foregoing devices are either heavy and complex mechanical lifts or slings or are not well suited for use in a vehicle. What is needed is a transfer sling design specifically to permit a caregiver in assist in extracting an elderly or disabled person from a car seat, that is lightweight for in-car storage and can be used by unskilled operators.
It is, therefore, an object of the present innovation to provide a vehicle sling to enable a caregiver to assist an elderly or disabled person to a standing position from a seated position (or vice-versa) in a vehicle such as a car.
It is another object of the present invention assist a caregiver or the patients themselves in swinging their legs forty-five to ninety degrees from center toward a door opening and then shifting their weight to a standing position over their feet.
It is another object to provide a vehicle sling as above that facilitates rotation of the patient by a low friction fabric-on-fabric interface and yet which does not facilitate forward sliding of the patient in an emergency vehicle stop maneuver.
It is another object to provide a vehicle sling as above that is lightweight for in-car storage and can be used by unskilled operators.